


Measure My Love

by lotioncryogenics



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fluff, Lesbian Disaster Adora (She-Ra), Post-Canon, Post-War, Self-Discovery, Slice of Life, basically season 6
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:29:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24245812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lotioncryogenics/pseuds/lotioncryogenics
Summary: The Best Friends Squad navigates their post-war life together, bringing magic back to the world and learning how this romance thing works. On the way, they discover first ones secrets, go to the beach, travel though time and get captured. Ya know, normal stuff.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 85





	1. Victory

“To the rebellion! To She-Ra! To Etheria!” Glimmer cried out, raising her glass. The sound of a thousand victorious rebels was deafening. Adora looked up at Glimmer on the stage and cheered.

“I definitely had some help, I guess,” Adora laughed as she nudged Bow. He smiled and rolled his eyes and continued to clap. 

Adora almost couldn’t comprehend the day that had just passed. The Horde had been defeated, Glimmer met her dad, She-Ra restored Etheria’s life and magic, Catra… loves her. And they kissed. 

Adora gently touched her lips and exhaled. She whipped her head around, searching for Catra.

“Hey, Mermista, have you seen Catra?” Adora asked.

Mermista shrugged. “Sorry, no.” 

Adora nodded her head, as if to say thanks, and squeezed her way through the crowd. As she pushed her way past, many people patted her on the back, praised her, congratulated her.

“Great job, She-Ra!”

“Praise She-Ra!”

“Thank you for saving Etheria!”

“You’re a blessing!”

She grinned at all of them and gave them thumbs up as she made her way through the mass.

Finally, she saw Catra ducking around the corner into the garden.

Adora followed her outside and tapped her on the shoulder. “Hey Catra.”

“Adora! What are you doing out here?”

“I’m here to talk to you, silly. I wanted to talk to you about the kiss?”

Catra blushed. “Yeah, it was nice.”

“Catra, it was more than nice. That kiss literally rocked the world!”

Catra giggled and shoved Adora. “So, then does that mean that you’d maybe want to be my girlfriend?”

Adora beamed and picked up Catra and spun her around. “Of course!” Adora paused and set her down. “So then, that means you really love me?”

“Remember that night we stole the skiff after you got promoted?”

“The night I found the sword? Obviously.”

“Well, that’s when I was going to tell you that I was in love with you. And then you crashed the skiff and almost died,”

“You totally crashed the skiff!” Adora scoffed. “I had it under control and then you tried to hog the steering!”

“Yeah right,” Catra rolled her eyes. “Anyways, you fell and hurt yourself so I decided to hold off on saying anything. And then you… left.” there was a hint of resentment and anger when Catra said that. 

“I’m so sorry for leaving you Catra, but I did what needed to be done, and look what came of it.” she gestured around them to the bright stars and tall trees.

“I know, I know,” she let out a deep breath. “It still hurts.” Catra sat down and crossed her arms.

Adora sighed and sat down next to Catra and wrapped an arm around her. 

Adora couldn’t find the right words to comfort her. Everything she came up with sounded weak, or repetitive. Adora knew she did the right thing, but she had always felt guilty about it. Ever since the battle of Thaymor, when the two had parted ways, Adora felt a weight in her heart. For months after and following every encounter between the two, the last thing she saw before she fell asleep was the betrayed look on Catra’s face. Adora could never forget that look. Before then, it was a look she had only seen on Catra’s face after a bad encounter with Shadow Weaver, but never had it ever been meant for her. That’s what haunted her. 

“I never wanted to leave you. I wanted you to come with me, to stay with me. I just couldn’t stay with you in the Fright Zone.”

Catra nodded knowingly. “If I could go back, I’d go with you. I was just so scared. I didn’t believe that I could escape Shadow Weaver, and I was afraid you had found something you wanted more than me. I didn’t want to compete with what you had found, because… I was afraid that I would lose.”

“Lose to Glimmer and Bow?”

“Well, I didn’t know it was them at the beginning, but when I met them, it was even worse. They were so much better than me. Glimmer has magic and Bow is...Bow. I couldn’t risk the possibility that you found people you liked better.”

“Oh, Catra. Bow and Glimmer are my best friends. But no one could ever replace you. Even now, after all these years with them, only you understand everything about me. And I never want to leave you again. Whether we’re friends or girlfriends, I want you in my life forever.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

Catra jumped into Adora’s lap and hugged her tightly. “Thank you.”

Adora kissed her cheek. “Of course. I love you.”

“Oh no, that won’t do.” Catra pulled away and smiled a devious smile. She pushed Adora to the ground and kissed her hard. She then nestled her head into the crook of Adroa’s neck and took in the smell of her girlfriend.

The two of them laid there for a while, cuddling and looking to the new sky above their heads. 

\-----

The next morning, the castle was a mess. Servants worked to clean up the aftermath and Scorpia tried to help, anxious that she wasn’t being useful. 

They all insisted that she was fine and that it was their job. She stopped trying to wash the dishes after she cracked one of the plates. 

So instead, she tried to find her friends, or at least the ones who were awake and available.

Entrapta had just gone to sleep, she was up all night tinkering with Horde Prime’s tech. Bow, Glimmer and Mermista always slept in late. Adora and Catra were gone all night and didn’t go to sleep for a long time. Scorpia could hear them talking and laughing all night. 

Scorpia was happy that Catra and Adora found each other. She was, of course, a little sad because she knew that her crush towards Catra was one sided. Fortunately, it wasn’t as strong as it used to be.

Eventually, she happened upon Perfuma, who was towards the end of her morning meditation. 

“Hi Perfuma, can I join you?” she asked cautiously. 

“Oh hello, Scorpia! It’d be so nice for you to join me! Right now, I’m in the middle of a breathing exercise. Sit down, let me show you.” She patted the ground beside her. 

Scorpia crossed her legs and sat down. 

“Close your eyes. Breathe in until the count of four.”

Scorpia inhaled. One, two, three, four.

“Hold it for four”

She felt the oxygen deep in her lungs, waiting to be released. One, two, three, four.

“Exhale for four”

Scorpia let the air leave her. One, two, three, four. 

“And hold again for four seconds,”

One, two, three, four.

“How was that?” Perfuma asked.

“I liked it. It’s a good way to get oxygen to your brain and prepare for battle.”

“Oh no, Scorpia, this is the opposite of battle. This is about being at peace. Becoming one with yourself and the world around you. It’s meant to be calming. Let’s try another one.” Perfuma lay down on the grass and pulled Scorpia down with her. 

“Close your eyes again and think about five things you can feel.”

“I can feel the grass. And the breeze. It’s really cool and soft. The perfect temperature really. I can feel your hand, which is also soft. My pinchers are always rough. Speaking of, I can feel the plates on my back, pressing up against the ground. I can feel my clothes. I can feel my hair tickling my nose.”

“Good, Scorpia. Now what are four things you can see?”

“The Moonstone, your flowers, the castle, and the clouds.”

“Fantastic! Three things you can hear.”

“ Well I can hear your voice. I can hear Emily walking around. I can hear the water.”

“Two things you can smell?”

“I can smell the flowers in the garden and the kitchen. They’re making breakfast. Ooh, now I’m hungry.”

Perfuma giggled. “We can eat after this. Speaking of food, what can you taste?”

“Taste? I’m not eating anything. I can taste my saliva?”

“Good enough. Let’s go eat now. I’m done with my morning ritual.” Perfuma picked up her tea cup and helped Scorpia to her feet. 

As they walked towards the castle, Perfuma spoke. “How do you feel?”

“I guess I do feel calmer. Thanks, Perfuma!”

As they made their way to the dining room, they ran into Bow and Glimmer. 

“Hey you two!” Scorpia greeted cheerfully. 

“Hi, Scorpia! Hi Perfuma!” Glimmer responded. 

“How are you guys?” Bow asked.

“I just finished showing Scorpia part of my morning ritual.”

“It was fun!” she said. “Are you guys coming for breakfast?”

“Yes, we are starving.” Glimmer groaned. 

The four of them entered the dining hall, greeted by the smells of warm food and fizzy drinks. They sat down at the table and began piling food onto their plates. 

“So, Glimmer, Bow, I saw you guys kissing last night.” Perfuma danced in her chair.

The both blushed and turned away. 

“Oh come on!” Perfuma waved her hand dismissively. “We all knew something was bound to happen eventually. Spill!”

“I mean, there’s not much to tell,” Glimmer shrugged.

“Nothing is different except that now we kiss and stuff.” Bow said. 

“Plus, the war just ended. We agreed to take things slow.” Glimmer explained. “But we are thinking about asking Catra and Adora to do a double date!”

“That sounds so fun!” Perfuma exclaimed.

“What sounds fun?” Adora asked, coming into the dining hall with Catra, who was rubbing her eyes.

“A double date with you guys.” Bow replied.

“Ew, sounds gross.” Catra gagged, suddenly alert.

“Oh come on, Catra! We should do it,” Adora pleaded.

“I’ll think about it,” she said.

“So, Wildcat, how’d you like the party last night?” Scorpia asked.

“Best party ever!” Catra said sarcastically. “I had so much fun watching people whisper about me being part of the Horde.”

“They did that with all of us who switched sides. It’ll be over soon, especially since you saved She-Ra.” Scorpia reassured her.

“I guess, it was still frustrating.”

“Well, at least I could help you take your mind off of it.” Adora hugged Catra

“You guys are so cute!” Scorpia clapped. “Catra, I’m so happy for you.”

“Thanks, Scorpia.”

They all continued to eat their breakfast and they talked about the party and their victory over the Horde

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is basically any she ra (mainly catradora) ideas I have set in the same story. Continue if you wanna see what weird gay thoughts I have.


	2. Gifts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I included some references to The legend of the Fire Princess comic. Heres a link to a free pdf.  
> https://comiconlinefree.com/she-ra-and-the-princesses-of-power-legend-of-the-fire-princess/issue-TPB/full

“I don’t want to go back down there,” Adora said firmly.

“Adora, you’re the one who proposed bringing magic back to the universe,” Glimmer crossed her arms. “Going back is the only way to do it.”

“You guys don’t know what it was like down there.” Catra shook her head.

“Being in the heart was scary.” Adora shuddered. “You heard and saw things all the time. And plus, the poison monster is down there.” 

“I thought Shadow Weaver killed it?” Bow inquired.

“Oh no, it’s still there.” Entrapa chimed in. “The First Ones made it so that it can reform. I encountered several like it on Beast Island.”

“How do you know that, Entrapta? You never saw it.” Glimmer asked.

“By analyzing the residual poison in Adora’s blood.” Entrapta said matter-a- factly. “Which, by the way, it’s not poison, not in a traditional sense. It’s closer to something like a computer virus, attacking the energy and electricity in the body. So, by figuring that out, I could then determine that the monster is in fact first ones tech, not a living creature.”

“Also, on our way out, we saw it rebuilding itself. So, there’s that too.” Catra sighed.

“I know that it’s risky, but we can handle it!” Bow encouraged the group. “Now that you’re She-Ra again, you can easily handle that thing.”

“I guess…” The blonde wavered. 

“I wanna come too!” Entrapta jumped up and down. “I have to study this!”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Adora said. 

“ I promise, I’ll stay out of the way.” The Princess of Dryl crossed her fingers.

“She can handle herself.” Catra assured them.

“Fine,” Adora agreed. “What do we need to do?”

“Well, we need shards of all the rune stones and then we take it to the Heart to contain some of the magic.” Entrapta projected some drawing and schematics on the wall that showed all the stones breaking and being reformed together. 

“Contain it in what? It’s not like there’s some magic jam jar or something.” Adora shook her head.

“No, but there's something close enough!” Entrapta bobbed around on her hair. “The sword! Well, the old broken one. Since the new sword doesn’t technically exist and only tactile to She-Ra, the older sword’s gem will have to do.”

“That sounds easy enough,” Catra shrugged. 

“There is one problem,” Entrapta laughed nervously. “We would have to fuse all the shards together with magic not science, and I don’t know of any magic that could do that.”

“Wait, I think I know of something,” the Queen spoke up. “The Legend of the Fire Princess.”

“What legend?” Adora’s interest piqued. “I’ve never heard of a fire princess before.”

“Oh, that’s all fake,” Entrapta waved her off.

“Huh?” the group sounded off in sync

“There was never a fire princess. The First One’s tried to make their own runestone, a fire one. They failed. That’s my best guess. Now there's just an unstable lava hot rock in Mount Candila.” Entrapta explained.

“How do you know this?” Catra questioned.

“I tried to study it once. It didn’t go too well.” Entrapta looked down, and sighed disappointed. “A lot of my research was lost in a fire that I accidentally sparked when I attempted to drill into the runestone.”

“Well, we wouldn’t be drilling into the stone, we would simply be rechanneling some of its energy.” Adora explained.

“Maybe we could use Adora's sword as a conduit!” Bow suggested.

“That could work!” Entrapta exclaimed. “The Sword of Protection is connected to all runestones, so when the First Ones tried to make their own runestone, some element of that connectedness must have been integrated!”

Entrapta rushed to her computer and Bow followed. 

“Let’s leave the nerds to their nerd stuff and come back later,” Catra made her way out the room, holding Adora’s hand. 

The two women walked to Adora’s- no- Their room.

“So, it’s been a month since we kissed and saved the world,” Catra said

“Yeah, what about it?” Adora asked. 

“Well, uh, I have something for you.”

“Awww, Catra, you didn’t have to!” Adora blushed. “I don’t have anything for you.”

“That’s okay, I just wanted to make you something.”

Adora gasped and stopped in her tracks. “You  _ made _ me a gift?” She pulled her girlfriend into a tight embrace, and lifted her off the ground. “Thank you!”

“Oh, get off Adora, you haven’t even seen it yet,” Catra squealed, desperately trying to escape Adora’s hold. Even if she did enjoy being in Adora’s strong arms, she still had appearances to keep up. 

“I know that I’ll love whatever you give me,”

Catra fought back a smile as Adora let her go. “Come on, let’s go. It’s in our room. Race ya!” Catra immediately sprinted away.

“Oh no you don’t!” Adora chuckled and ran after her. 

Catra reached the door first and tumbled into the room, Adora right on her tail.

"You cheated!" Adora wheezed.

"No way, it's not my fault you didn't start running when I did."

"Oh you-!" Adora tackled Catra onto the sofa.

The two fell into fitful giggles and they wrestled one other. Adora eventually overpowered her girlfriend and tickled her mercilessly. 

“AH! Stop!” Catra shrieked. “No! Adora!” 

She did stop and bent down to kiss Catra, who reluctantly accepted. They grasped at one other, breathing heavily, their faces in the other's neck. The world felt still.

Adora lifted her head and smiled fondly. Catra got lost in her eyes for a split second before remembering what they were in the room for. 

“Let me up, I gotta give you your gift.”

“Right, of course.”

Catra went into the closet and dug around. She eventually emerged with a box wrapped in a red bow. She shoved towards Adora. “Here you go.”

Adora unfurled the ribbon and opened the box. Inside lay a piece of metal.

“Turn it over,” Catra directed.

Adora turned over the hunk of metal to reveal a drawing of her and Catra. She could tell that it had been damaged and repaired. It was mounted in a wood frame that Catra made. A poem was carved into wood.

_ Around you my heart goes so fast _

_ But I want it to slow down _

_ Just to have more time with you _

_ I feel as though I've had a really dark night  _

_ But the day has come and it is you _

_ You have graced my life _

_ You’ve blessed me with endless happiness and pleasure _

_ I hope that I can match what you have given me _

_ I have never been so sure about something before _

_ Now all I can pray for _

_ Is for you to stay by my side _

_ Forever. _

“It’s from your bunk, when you were in the horde. It got… scratched and stuff but I fixed it up.”

“Catra, I…” Adora struggled to form words. “It’s beautiful. I love it.” She held the frame close to her chest and pulled Catra onto her lap and kissed her. “This is the best thing I’ve ever gotten. I love you.”

“I love you too.”


	3. Girls in Bikinis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The squad goes to the beach.

The sea was calm, the sand was warm and a gentle breeze drifted across Glimmer’s skin. Everything was perfect.

Except Adora’s attitude.

“We should be trying to track down the fire stone!” she whined.

“Oh my Goddess, Adora, calm down!” Glimmer crossed her arms. 

“You and I both know that is never going to happen.” Catra sighed laying down her beach towel.

“Can we just have one nice, chill day?” Bow tried to reason with Adora. 

“But we are so close to finding the runestone!”

“Adora, no.” Glimmer put her hands on her hips. “No one is in danger anymore. We are allowed to take a break. A lack of magic in the universe isn’t going to make it implode.”

“We deserve a day at the beach, the Best Friend’s squad.” Bow nudged her.

Catra hugged Adora from behind. “Adora, I’ve never been to the beach. I wanna experience it with you. Please? For me?”

Adora rolled her eyes and turned to Catra. “Fine. You guys win.”

“Yay!” Bow jumped up.

“Let’s go change into our swimming suits,” Glimmer waved to the changed stalls and she and Bow left.

“Wait, swimming? No one said anything about swimming! I thought we were just gonna build the sand houses and soak up the sun!”

Adora chortled. “Nah, too late. I’ve made up my mind. And also, they’re called sand castles. I brought an extra swim suit for you. Swim with us. For me?”

“I'm not going to swim but… I’ll put my feet in the water.”

“Close enough.” Adora said, satisfied with the compromise. She dug into her bag and handed Catra a red one piece bathing suit. Catra reluctantly snatched it from the blondes hands and stomped over to the stall.

Adora closed the door to the stall and put on a white bikini in the mirror. As she slipped on the cloth, she couldn’t help but notice the green and brown scars on her stomach from where the poison dug the deepest. It was the only scar that She-Ra couldn’t heal. 

Adora realized that everyone would see her disgusting marred skin. All of sudden, she was reliving that moment. The walls were closing in on her and she couldn’t breathe. The monster sounded so loud. Was it nearby? She needed to protect her friends.

“For the Honor of Grayskull!” Adora summoned She-Ra but… she never came.

How did the monster escape? And why wasn’t She-Ra coming to her?

“Catra!” Adora screamed and curled up onto the floor.

Seconds later Catra burst into the stall, “Adora!?” She looked down and saw her girlfriend in a ball, hyperventilating. 

“Adora, what’s wrong?”

“It’s here!”

“What’s here?”

“The monster!” she gasped for air. “From the Heart! And I can’t stop it! I can’t transform again!”

Catra understood what was happening and she wrapped her arms around adora and rubbed her back, rocking her back and forth. “Baby, there’s nothing here. You’re safe.”

“No… no… I can hear it.”

“It’s okay, Adora, the monster isn’t here. I promise.” Catra looked down and saw the marks where the poison was. “It’s okay.”

Adora seemed to calm down a bit after and her breathing steadied, although still shaky. 

They stayed there for a few minutes until Adora stopped crying and her breathing was back to normal.

Adora wiped her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?”

“Ruining the day.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, princess. We can still have an awesome day. We’re gonna swim together, remember?”

“Wait, you’ll swim with me?”

“I guess, don’t make too much of a deal about it.”

“Alright.” Adora gave her a small smile. “That was weird. It was like I was having a nightmare during the day. I just saw my scars and freaked out.”

Catra thought for a moment. “Do you want to switch outfits and then you don’t have to think about your scars?” she offered.

“That'd be nice, thank you.”Adora agreed.

The two switched swim suits and walked out onto the beach where Bow and Glimmer were waiting for them.

“You guys ready for some water fun?” Glimmer called excitedly.

“Hell yes!” Catra yelled back.

The four ran to the water and dove into the sparkling sea. 

Well, three of them dove into the sea. Catra screeched to a halt when her toes touched the cold water.

“Come on Catra, it’s okay. The water will warm up after you’ve been in it for a bit.” Adora held out a hand. Catra remembered her promise and took Adora’s hand and slowly wadded into the water.

Catra shivered when her whole body was submerged. “How is this fun? My fur feels weird.”

“I bet it does, but watch this!” Adora splashed Catra with a huge wave of water, leaving Catra’s hair wet and heavy.

“Ah!” She spluttered. “No fair!” and she splashed Adora back.

Glimmer and Bow doubled over at the sight of Adora and Catra torturing one another. 

“Wait- are they making fun of us Adora?”

“I think they are.” 

In an unspoken truce, Adora and Catra turned their attention onto their friends. 

\----

An hour later, Adora crashed like a toddler into a sun soaked nap.

“Wow, I guess she needed the sleep. Maybe we should have had a day in.” Bow said.

“Nah, it’s not like that. Adora, had like… a day… nightmare? Anyways whenever those happen she always gets a huge burst of energy and then crashes.” Catra explained.

“A panic attack?” Glimmer offered.

“I guess you could call it that.” Catra shrugged and layed down next to Adora and played with her hair. 

Bow and Glimmer took Catra’s curling up next to Adora and their signal to take a walk. 

The sun was about to set, and the light was at its greatest. Bow always liked looking at Glimmer during that time. It was like her energy and glow radiated the whole world around them. He knew that she harnessed the Moon Stone but, at golden hour, she glowed like the sun.

"Glimmer," Bow said softly, and took Glimmer's hands into his own. "I love you."

"I love you too Bow." She smiled widely. 

"No, I really love you and I know you said you wanted to take things slow cause you're the queen and you don't know how the people will react but I want to be with you in a more public way. I don't want to sneak around to steal kisses like we're hiding from our parents."

Glimmer kissed him on the cheek. "Okay."

"Wait, that's it? I had a whole arsenal of logic I had planned." He scratched his head and Glimmer giggled.

"You're right. I've been silly, worried about what people think. I mean, why wouldn't they want me to be with someone? I bet some traditionalists will be happy that I've found a potential husband."

"Let's take one step at time," Bow shook his head and chuckled. 

"Agreed. Let's just enjoy this right now. I'm really happy with you."

"I am too." 

The two embraced and shared a moment where their hearts connected. 

"So, do we like, announce this or something?" Bow asked.

"I don't think so. Why would we? We can just be… us." She told him.

“Okay, but we do have to tell my dads.”

“You haven’t told them yet?”

“No, it’s only been a month. I wanted to wait until something was...for sure.”

Glimmer nodded her head silently. 

“But once I do, they’re definitely going to invite you to dinner.” He informed her. 

“They’d better make their pie, that stuff is amazing.”

“I’ll let them know.”

The sun started to settle into the horizon, painting the sky orange and purple. The couple sat down in the sand and watched the sunset together.


	4. Memory Lane

“I want to go back to beast island.” Entrapta announced

“Excuse me?” Catra asked incredulously

“I want to go back to beast island and collect the first ones tech and bring it back to Dryl.”

“Entrapta, that's dangerous.” Catra could feel the guilt creeping in again. “What if something happens?”

“You’ll protect me.”

“What?”

“Well I can’t go alone. That’s a lot of heavy lifting. I’ll need help.”

“Why not ask Adora? Or Scorpia? They have all the muscles.”

“Oh they’re coming with me too. And Micah because he’s lived on the island.”

“Okay, so you have Adora and Scorpia for the heavy lifting, Micah as the travel guide and what exactly do I contribute?”

“You’d be the best fighter on the island, because you are incredibly agile and good at escaping tight situations.”

Catra fought back a smile. Thank you, she thought.

“We’re leaving in two hours.” 

“Two hours? You just told me that we’re going to beast island?

“I know, I remember telling you. 

“Entrapta, you need to give me time to prepare to leave.” 

“We don’t leave for another couple hours. You can find Melog and get on the ship in two hours.”

“I mean emotionally prepare. And have you even told or asked anyone else?”

“Well, I figured I’d tell them on the way.”

“No, Entrapta, you can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s...considerate to tell people what you’re doing if you're involving so they know what to prepare for and decide if they want to even go.”

“Oh...I should go tell them then. Oh look, there’s Adora!” Entrapta pointed into the hall behind Catra where Adora was halfway hiding behind the door frame. “I’ll tell her now! Hey, Adora!” she waved her over and Adora walked to them.

“Wanna come to Beast Island?” Entrapta asked

“Uh… sure?”

“Oh, cool! See you in two hours!” Entrapta walked away presumably to ask the others. 

“Wait, Entrapta, I have to- she’s gone.” Adora sighed. 

“You were hiding. Why were you stalking?” Catra raised an eyebrow.

“I wanted to ask Entrapta something. But then I saw you and couldn’t help but hear what you were saying. About being considerate and stuff. You’re being a nice person!”

“Ew, no I’m not. I just wanted Entrapta to know that I need a heads up next time.”

“Whatever, I’m proud of you.” Adora smiled and pulled Catra into a bear hug.

A few hours later, Mara’s- no, Adora’s ship touched down on Beast Island. Entrapta immediately ran off. 

“I’ll uh, go get her.” Scorpia sighed. Micah followed her.

“Adora, I don’t want to be here.” Catra whimpered. 

“It’ll be okay.” Adora hugged Catra. “Just stay with the group and don’t let anything touch you.”

Catra didn’t feel very reassured. 

The couple walked down the steps of the ship and followed the noises of Entrapta’s excited squeals.

“Just take everything you can see.” Entrapta yelled. 

The rest of the group rolled their eyes. 

Adora transformed into She-Ra and started piling everything into her arms. 

“Micah, let’s go deeper into the island and find some good stuff.” the purple princess said and skipped away, with a reluctant Micah tailing her.

Catra walked farther away from She-Ra and Scorpia, picking up small crystals and scraps of tech. 

“Catraaaaaaaa”

“Who said that?” Catra jumped.

Her ears perked up at the sound of a crackling whirring sound. 

She followed the sound and found a swirling pit of electricity and light. 

“Catra! Where did you go?” She heard Adora call. 

“I’m over here!”

Adora turned the corner and found Catra, standing over a whirlpool of light and magic. 

“Hey what are-”

A blinding yellow light enveloped She-Ra and catra. Catra could feel herself being whisked away, she reached around her, desperate to grab hold of her girlfriend. “Adora! Where are you?”

Adora heard Catra’s cries and flailed her arms around, and brushed against Catra’s collar. “I'm right here! Catra!”

They clung to one another for dear life. Moments later, they found themselves grounded, sitting on the floor. Adora slowly opened her eyes, unsure of what to expect. She found that they were back in the barracks of the Fright Zone. 

“Catra, I think…” Adora couldn’t finish her sentence, too stunned.

“How are we back in the Fright Zone?” Catra asked.

“Maybe it’s like the memory projection from the crystal castle?” Adora suggested.

They both stood up and brushed themselves off. 

“Let’s just try and find a way out of here.” Adora said catra nodded in agreement.

They walked out of the barracks and looked down the hallway, to see a horde officer walking towards them. 

“Halt!” He called. “Who are you?”

“Wait, you can see us?” Adora gasped.

The officer looked confused. “Of course I can see you. And I’ve also never seen you before. Who are you?”

Catra jumped in front of Adora, “We uh, are here to uhm take inventory. We’re from the other side of the fright zone.”

“Right, we just transferred here.” Adora chipped in.

“But not permanently! No, after today you won’t see us again. We are just a pair of helping hands. “

“Okay then. I’ll take you guys to see Shadow Weaver. She handles all the paperwork over here.”

“Oh that won’t be necessary. We already talked to her.”

“Very well.” And with that the officer walked away.

Catra and Adora took a Moment to collect themselves, processing what had happened. 

“This… isn’t a memory. And Shadow Weaver’s alive. I think this is the past.” Catra said.

“But...why? How?”

“Psh. I don’t know. We should probably figure out when this is.” Catra wandered down the hallway, looking around for any evidence that could give her a clue as to what and when and how. She did not however notice that Adora walked down the other hallway, neither of them noticing that they had been separated.

“Hey Adora,” Catra turned around expecting to see her girl. “Adora? Where did you go? Ugh that’s so like her to just take off.”

She leaned up against the wall, hoping Adora would turn around and realize she had left her girlfriend behind.

“Ha! I found you!” Catra heard and from around the corner, came a small human who tackled catra. 

The small human let go not soon after and shrieked. 

“Adora?” The small human that sat in front of Catra was a young Adora.

The young Adora looked up at the person before her, recognizing the tail, the ears and the blue and yellow eyes. “Catra? Did you grow?”

“A-Adora? Is that you?”

“Yeah, is that you?”

“Yeah. I’m Catra.”

“Why are you big?”

“I’m uhm. A magical vision. Here to uh guide you.” She lied carefully. There’s no way anything good would happen if Adora knew she was from the future. 

“Cool! Let’s go find my catra!”

The young Adora took Catras hand and tugged her along. Catra couldn’t help but smile. Adora was so tiny! She couldn’t have been more than ten. Catra wanted to cuddle her and protect her and curl up next to her and hug her to sleep. 

She could never tell Adora that, she’d hold it over her for the rest of their lives. 

Young Adora looked over her shoulder and grinned at catra. She slowed down and walked side by side with her older best friend. 

“How old are you?” Adora asked.

“I’m 21.”

“Wow! You’re thirteen years older than me! You’re from so far! That’s more years than I’ve been alive so far! Are you here from the future to defeat the princesses?”

That’s a spoiler, Adora. Catra laughed weakly. Had they really been indoctrinated that little? Logically she knew that they’d been manipulated their whole life but Catra was so used to Adora being besties with princesses. She could have sworn that she had more… childlike memories?

“Aw, you’re no fun anymore. My catra would tell me.”

“Excuse me little miss-” Catra scooped up Adora and tickled her. “I’m no fun? I’ll show you fun!” Adora screeched and giggled.

Adora looked around. Damn it! She lost catra! She huffed and whispered screamed her girlfriend’s name. 

Around the corner she spotted a tail. Just a glimpse. But that was all she needed to know that her girl was nearby.

“Found ya!” Adora smiled and reached to where she thought catra was going to be. Instead there was nothing. Well nothing at her eye level. She looked down and saw a small catra. 

Catra?

The small Catra backed up and hissed.

“Who are you!”

“It’s… me. Adora.”

“No! Adora is my size! She’s a kid!” Catra said, flattening her ears.

“But it is me catra.” Adora sat down on the floor and held out her arms.

“Prove it.”

Adora thought for a moment. “Your mask!” She gasped. “We stole it from Shadow Weaver! It’s underneath the utility panel of the barracks. “

Catra squinted her eyes. 

“I made you promise not to tell anyone that you sleep next to me because it helps my nightmares.”

Catra, backed down, and slowly walked to Adora. 

Catra circled around her for a moment, inspecting Adora. When she deemed the adult Adora had passed her test, she came closer to her and looked up at Adora with her big blue and yellow eyes. “Why are you big?”

“I’m from the future!”

“Wow! That’s awesome!”

“I know right!”

“How’d you do it?”

“I don’t know actually.”

“Huh. Well whatever let’s go find my Adora. The real one.”

“I’m still real.” Adora chuckled. Huh, catra had said, ‘her’ Adora. She was possessive back then. 

They walked down the hall, wandering throughout any new paths in hopes to find the other half to their duo.

Adora sighed. She missed catras hair like that. Long and fluffy. Catra missed it too. She never said anything but Adora could tell by the way her girlfriend looked in the mirror and grasped at her hair, pulling it down to see how much it had grown. 

Adora also missed her soft gray tufts. Catra didn’t want those back, she said they got dirty too fast and Adora was too gay for wanting to pet her tufts when they were kids. Adora refuted back that if that was gay, catra should’ve known adoras love a lot sooner. Catra huffed and didn’t give a response to that. 

Adora smiled at the memory. Catra was so easy to make fun of and tease. She would love to see what that was like when they were little. 

From down the corridor, Adora could hear laughing. Hers and catra’s laughter

Little catra and adora looked at each other and ran towards the laughter. 

Catra was holding a small adora in her arms, and tickling her, making adora giggle and kick uncontrollably. 

Adora’s heart fluttered when she saw Catra being so cute with a kid adora. For a split second, Adora could imagine she and Catra having kids and it being just like this. 

She shook the idea from her head. That wasn’t important at the moment. 

“Adora look what I found!” the small catra enthused.

Adora! There you are! The big Catra exclaimed 

Catra, this is so cool. Adult Adora said. 

“You used to be so cute.” Big catra cooed. “What happened?”

“Hey!” Adora protested. 

“Catra, Big Me, are you gonna stay? Came a timid voice. 

The adult pair exchanged a look. 

We can’t, Catra signaled her thoughts to Adora. 

But they're so cute! Adora begged. 

Then we’ll be stuck, Catra huffed.

“We can’t stay. We have to get back to our time.” Catra said. 

The kid pair frowned. “Oh, well. Alright.” little Catra shrugged. 

A purple light popped in between the pairs. It was Micah. 

“Micah, look! It’s baby us!” Adora squealed. 

“That’s great Adora, grab my hands guys, we have to go. This magic is too strong to break though. We’re damaging the timeline.”

Adora and Catra quickly attached themselves to the sorcerer as he drew a memory rune. The three were whisked away in a flash of light. 

“What happened, why did we have to leave?”

“It looks like the First Ones were experimenting with time travel! But the wormhole they were using was unstable and unpredictable.”

“I erased your younger version’s memories. Everything should be the same.” Micah sighed.

“Uh, Micah, it looks like something stuck.” Adora pointed to Catra, who was now wearing her magicat helmet again. 

“What? That’s… impossible.” Catra gasped, taking off her helmet. “Horde Prime destroyed it.”

“No clue. But now you have it again. I’d call that a win.” Adora knew how much that helmet meant to her. It was the only thing she had of her species. 

Catra turned the helmet over in her hands, bewildered. 

How did it come back to her? She thought. And why?

**Author's Note:**

> Cute that Adora is like any catra is a good catra! And I just find it funny that big Adora has to gain little catras trust and could only do it when she revealed a vulnerable side of herself.


End file.
